Author: Sean Crose

“Boxing has lost a brave man with the death of former commentator Alex Wallau,” Top Rank Promotion’s Bruce Tampler said on social media last weekend. “Dear friend of many in the industry. Alex received death threats after exposing Don King’s fraudulent tournament. He was the mastermind behind Howard Cosell and later president of ABC television on Bob Iger’s behalf. He should be the HOF.” Indeed, Gentleman Wallau was one of the biggest faces of the sport during the golden age of the 1980s. However, the broadcaster also became known as a warrior outside the ring, who for decades challenged corruption and successfully fought cancer.

Wallau was working for ABC in the mid-1980s when he was offered the opportunity to broadcast live professional boxing on the network. He was previously known for fighting the broadcast of a farcical fighting tournament. He may have looked too polished to be an integral part of boxing broadcasts, but Wallau excelled in his work in front of the cameras, becoming a enduring fixture in the minds of those of us who followed his craft. However, his career was cut low when he was diagnosed with throat cancer. However, from the very beginning of his health battle, Wallau proved to be a warrior. “After three months, 25 percent of people with this disease are dead,” he said at first, “I feel good. It’s like a 15-round fight. You don’t know if you can do it until you try. I’m ready to try.”

The network television employee also had the ability to put things into perspective. “I always felt like everything was going to work out in life,” he said (in a quote published by Ring Magazine). “I’ve had an incredibly cheerful life, a great family, friends, wife. So I think it’s a arduous time for me, but it happens to a lot of people throughout their lives. I remember saying to my wife once, ‘I can’t always be this lucky’. So in a way, I was prepared for it.”

As if his courage wasn’t proof enough, the man died on Friday at the age of 80 – after decades of successfully battling cancer. “Alex Wallau,” famed trainer/podcaster Teddy Atlas said, “was a boxing expert as a commentator and television executive, and a fighter who survived cancer and lived like a gentleman. In low, while Wallau was an vital part of the fighting game – he became even more vital in showing the world how he faced adversity.”

He will certainly be missed both inside and outside boxing circles.

TEAR.